Roadway.



C. W. BAKER.

ROADWAY.

APPLrcATloN FILED mm3, 19|5.

1,199,751. Patented 001;. 3,1916.

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CHARLES WHITING BAKER, F MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

ROADWAY.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 3, 1916.

Application led April 23, 1915. Serial No. 23,344.

To all whom t may concern' Be it known that I, CHARLES IVI-IITING BAKER,a citizen of the United States, residing at Montclair, in the county ofEssex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Roadways, of which the following is a specific-ation.

My invention consists of an improved roadway which is usable both byordinary vehicles and also by cars of my invention which are adapted torun on a. single line of rail, being balanced over the same by Wheelsrunning on the roadway at either side of the central rail.

' My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure l is a cross-section of the roadway with a carshown in diagram thereon; Fig. 2 is a. cross-section of the forms usedin molding' the groove for the rail, with the means for holding them inline-and surface; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of the rail aslaid in the surface of the roadway; and Fig. fl is a diagrammatic sideelevation of the car with the roadway yin longitudinal section.

My improved roadway, shown in crosssection in Fig. l, is composed ofcement concrete, and has embedded in the surface there-Y of a singleline of rail l with its head either ushnvith the roadway surface, orprojecting only slightly above it, so as not to interfere with the useof the roadway by ordinary vehicles. I do not, however, embed the raildirectly in the cement concrete, as eX perience has shown that theconcrete in contact with the rail, being of a brittle nature, becomesbroken by the jar and vibration set up in the rail by the passage ofwheels over it. I therefore mold a groove in the surface of theconcrete' roadway, and after the con crete has fully hardened, I lay therail in this groove and lill in around it with an elastic bituminouscomposition which combines to a certain degree the properties of a solidand a liquid, so that even if cracks are formed between it and the rail,by jar or by vibration, the material will, by its plasticity, flow backin contact with the rail and eX- clude water.

Describing now in fuller detail the construction of my improved roadway,the underlying earth or subgrade is thoroughly compacted, preferably bya steam roller, so

as to afford a solid foundation to the con- 1 of concrete roads.

crete wearing surface. The surface of the roadway, when ready for theconcrete, should be of theform shown in Fig. l having a centraldepression 2. Along the line of this central depression there is thenlaid the line of forms for the rail groove. These forms 8 (Fig. 2) arepreferably of wood, and to permit of bending them to conform tocurvature in theroadway, they may be made laminated, several boardsbeing bolted together, by bolts 4 passing through slotted holes. Afterthe form is bent to any desired curve, tightening of the nuts on thebolts holds the form in the bent position. These forms for use on curvesmay be` made deep enough to project above the surface of the concrete,so that the bolts will not be covered thereby. The forms 3 may also bemade thicker at the topy than at the bottom to facilitate theirremoval'from the groove after the concrete has hardened. The 'forms areplaced along the roadway, and supported preferably by piles of bricks atintervals, and held in proper alinement by stakes 5 driven at the sides.rAfter the forms are accurately adjusted as to level and alinement, andtheir surfaces oiled or soaped to prevent adhesion of the concrete, theconcrete is laid according to the best practice inV thelaying The stakes5 which hold the forms in alinement are removed before the concretehardens. i

After the concrete has become seasoned so that it is'. in condition tobe safely used by vehicles, the forms 3 are 4removed from the centralgroove. Melted asphaltum or other hot bituminous material is then pouredinto the groove in quantities suflicient to form a layer 6 (Fig. 3) ofabout one-quarter inch thickness, more or less. This hot asphaltum fillsall inequalities in the bottom of the groove, and before hardeningassumes a perfectly level surface from side to side of the groove. Afterthis asphaltum has cooled there is laid upon it a strip of felt orsimilar v elastic material 7. `The rails 1 are then joined by angle-barsin the usual manner, and temporarily supported on cross-pieces spanningthe groove. On'removal of the cross-pieces, the line of rails is loweredinto the groove, the foot of the rail resting on the felt 7 The spacearound the rail is then filled in flush with the surface with asphalt orother bituminous paving material S, the same being compressed by tampingand rolling, to give a smooth unyielding surface. If

the top of the rail is flush with the pavement surface, grooves 9 forthe wheel flanges are formed in the asphalt on each side of the railhead.

lf desired, reinforcing rods or a network of reinforcing wire may beembedded in the concrete under the rail. to secure the necessarystrength to support the loads upon the rail by thorough compacting ofthe earth beneath and by increased thickness of the concrete under therail, rather than by the use of reinforcing steel.

rThe cars to run on this rail are shown in diagrammatic cross-section inFig. l, and in side elevation in Fig. The main 'weight of the car iscarried on the central doubleflanged wheels l0 which run on :the rail.`Wheels 11 at either side running on the concrete road surface, andcarrying a small pa'rt of the cars weight, keep the car balanced overthe central rail. Short springs l2 carry the load to the central wheels,and long springs 13 to the side wheels, and effect a proper distributionof the weight.

As seen in Fig. 4, the car floor is brought down very low, so as tobring down the center of gravity of the car and its load and reduce the.proportion of weight necessary to be carried on the side wheels to keepthe car steady.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis l. A hard-surfaced roadway having a groove formed in the surfacethereof, a cushion of compressible elastic material in l prefer,however,

.. the bottom of said groove, a line of rails in said groovecontinuously supported on said cushion, and a filling of bituminousmaterial in said groove around the rails.

2. A hard-surfaced roadway having a groove formed in the surfacethereof, a layer of congealed bituminous material covering the bottom ofsaid groove, a cushion of compressible elastic material over saidbituminous material, a line of rails in said groove continuouslysupported on said elastic cushion, and a filling of bituminous materia-lin said groove around the rails.

3. In a concrete roadway, the combination of a longitudinal grooveformed in the surface of said roadway, a downward projection of theconcrete beneath said groove, a layer of elastic compressible materialin said groove, a line of rails in said groove resting on said elasticcompressible material, and a filling of bituminous material in saidgroove on each side of said rail.

Jn. A concrete roadway having a longitudinal groove formed in thesurface thereof, a layer of compressible elastic material in the bottomof said groove, a line of rails continuously supported on said elasticmaterial, and a iilling of bituminous material in said groove on eachside of the rail.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES vWHTIGV BAKER `Witnesses:

M. E. MCNINCH,

CHARLES S. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, l). C.

